


Paterson {art}

by altocello



Series: Adam Driver Character Portraits [2]
Category: Paterson (2016)
Genre: Digital Painting, Ears, Fanart, Gen, Portraits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24293494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altocello/pseuds/altocello
Summary: Adam Driver as our sweet poet, Paterson, complete with soulful eyes, a soft set to his mouth, tendril of hair curled over his ear, and a fragile look on his face."...that giant Mona Lisa"--@amber_amberson
Series: Adam Driver Character Portraits [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748746
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Paterson {art}

**Author's Note:**

> This movie spoke to me so strongly on a deeply personal artistic level, and you can read my longer rambly thoughts on that below the art, if you like. 
> 
> The screenshot I used as a reference is from what's probably my favorite scene, where he listens to the girl's poem. What a wonderful example of how to support a young artist. My heart. 
> 
> I have a few receipts for the time involved with this one, and they tell me this took about 8 hours. Ish. 

  
[ ](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/paterson.jpg)

[](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/paterson-mouth-twitter.jpg) [](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/portraits/paterson-ear-twitter.jpg)

I'm trying and struggling to put words to all the thoughts I have about this one. It seems like such a simple thing, a portrait of a character in a quiet movie in which not much happens. But. 

I loved this movie. It was such a beautiful, quiet reflection on creativity, and the ways that people who are creative in different ways can support and appreciate one another. 

I saw the repetitive nature of Paterson's days as being meditative for him. How, as someone who was present but invisible in the daily lives of the people he drives around town, he's an observer with a unique window into moments of so many people's days. What a treasure trove for a poet. 

I feel like, as a visual artist, I need to be a careful observer too. I need find a meditative state of mind, and look at something without prejudice so that I can draw what I see, without letting too much of me get in the way. By not trying to make it look like the thing I think it "should be," I might manage to draw it the way it actually is, which is almost always better than anything I could impose on it. 

And then, to hear Adam (as himself) talk about repetition as an actor, how it lets him explore the possibilities of a scene/play/character.... Well. I'm up to 25 portraits of the man, never mind these character pieces, and I've yet to find the same answer twice.

And! Then he's always talking about how it's not his job as the actor to emote, that it's his job to be the character, and let the audience feel the emotion, whatever that is for the person watching. My own personal view of my role as an artist is to draw what I see and let the viewer feel the emotion. I might have something that I think they might feel, or hope that they feel, but in the end, I'll never do it for them; their answer to the question of "what is the artist trying to say" is just as valid as any statement that I, the artist, might make.

So, here's me, raising my one (1) metaphorical glass of beer for the evening to the idea of finding the beautiful variations possible in repetition, and to letting the audience feel the emotion.

Slainté!

**Author's Note:**

> Say hi on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/altocello)!  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/artocello/blog/artocello).


End file.
